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I have been a big fan of ?Silence of the lambs? for as long as I can remember, so when ?Hannibal" was released on DVD I was very apprehensive about the film and also the extras on the DVD. It?s a double disc and well worth the money. Disc one contains the feature, which I thought was absolutely amazing, although definitely not of the same quality as ?Silence of the lambs.? However I can?t think of any film where the sequel has been better so there was no surprise there. When advertising the DVD it was claimed that this was not a continuum to Silence but the next chapter of Hannibal?s life so you didn?t have to watch Silence first. I?d say that this is true to an extent, however ?Hannibal? continues to build on the special relationship between Lector and Clarice so a prior knowledge to this makes the film slightly deeper in your understanding Also on disc one is a full directors commentary by the director, Ridley Scott. This is fantastic and I felt I would have paid for this alone without the other extras. It gives you more depth to the film, shows how much work went into making it and it is quite inspiring for any aspiring directors. I also found that there were several incidents in the feature that I didn?t take much notice off but when Scott talks about them it adds to the amazing storyline and points out their significance. Disc two is probably what everyone is interested in. It?s jam packed with excellent things and takes a life to watch. There is a documentary named ?Breaking the silence. The making of Hannibal.? It lasts an astonishing one hour 16 minutes. Included is development, production, special make up effects, (I particularly enjoyed this part), music and reaction. I think I?d suggest watching this in sections as there is so much information to take in, it can either become slightly tedious or you miss half of what?s being said. Secondly there is an option to watch video clips from several angels. I have to say I wasn?t very inte rested in this option as it wasn?t really that interesting, although I?m sure camera men etc would probably find it useful. It uses the opening sequence to the feature at a fish market. The deleted scenes option is fantastic. It lasts over 35 minutes and so it?s a great watch. In total there are 14, and also an alternative ending to the feature, which lasts 6 minutes. I am glad that the scenes were taken out of the feature as they weren?t as strong as the others and really didn?t contribute enough. However, I particularly enjoyed the alternative ending which I won?t spoil for you, I?ll just say it?s definitely worth a watch. Although saying that I?m glad the ending that?s used was chosen, as it?s slightly stronger and gripping. The only problem with the deleted scenes is that there is no option to watch them all. Instead each time one is over you are taken back to the menu and you have to manually select the next one, a bit disappointing. The deleted scenes can be played with or without a commentary. The commentary contains information why the scenes weren?t used. Although it?s very interesting I?d suggest watching them first without the commentary so that they can be heard properly. I?d say that they were the key things included although there are several more including a marketing gallery, cast and crew information and production notes. There?s a choice of English, French or Spanish Dolby 5.1 surround and subtitles. Overall a fantastic price and a DVD that I thoroughly recommend!

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I’ve always been aware of “The silence of the lambs” existing however it wasn’t until it was released on DVD that I found an interest in it. It received so much hype especially with its close release with the sequel “Hannibal” that I decided it was worth a go, so I went out and bought it on DVD for £19-99. I was very pleased with my buy. Based on Thomas Harris’s novel and directed by Jonathon Demme is a thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat and definitely not reaching for the popcorn. We are presented with a film, no matter how scary, that shows the strange relationship between a trainee FBI agent and a cannibal in the quest of catching a somewhat disturbing man before he strikes and kills again. Jodie Foster plays Clarice Starling. She is a strong powerful woman on the outside fighting to be recognised as an equal to her fellow male students. But on the inside she is full of pain over her father’s death. When Buffalo Bill, a man confused with his identity to the extent he skins women to make his own female costume from real skin, skins his fifth victim Clarice is sent to Dr Hannibal Lector in the hope he will be able to help to identify Buffalo Bills true identity before he strikes again. When the FBI release that Buffalo Bill has taken Catherine Martin, the senators daughter, the FBI have three days to find her. From here Clarice and Hannibal’s relationship grows with give and take. Hannibal gives information in return for information about Clarice’s private life. Clarice being completely aware of Hannibal being a cannibal is initially very cautious of him but in time their relationship grows and they have some kind of mutual respect for each other. So when Hannibal escapes Clarice isn’t scared, as she knows that Hannibal would consider it rude to come and kill her. Most people will probably recognise the film by the presence of death moths on every picture you se e concerning it. This is very cleverly significant to the idea of changing identities seen constantly throughout the film. The plot doesn’t seem that appealing until you actually watch the film. Quite often the actors speak into the camera, in fact they are speaking to you as you are in effect in Clarice’s head. The story is told from her prospectus, which adds an extra dimension to the film. The relationship between Hannibal and Clarice is inspiring and almost seems untrue. There is really only one bloody scene when we get to see Hannibal in action and it is plenty to see how dangerous he can be when we are lead to believe this maybe isn’t they case, as he seems almost placid with Clarice! Throughout the whole film I felt tense and it definitely served it’s purpose as a thriller. The music, composed by Howard Shore was particularly effective in creating a tense atmosphere. The 18 rating for the film is definitely suitable. Swearing isn’t that prominent however, the violence and theme, which included Cannibalism and confused identity, was definitely worthy of an 18. I’d go as far as saying this film is slightly mind altering, as it’s so terrifying. The acting is truly marvellous and to think that people like Buffalo Bill have actually existed in history is disturbing. The significance of the title becomes apparent during the chats between Clarice and Hannibal and enhances the relationship between them If you have a strong nerve and enjoy a magnificent storyline and marvellous acting then I strongly suggest that you watch this film!

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"High Fidelity" is based on the novel of same name written by Nick Hornby. Directed magnificently by Stephen Frears and starring the very talented John Cusack who also co-produced the film, makes it one of the best films of all time. It seems to be the joint work of these two people that make the film the amusing, heartfelt experience that it is. I've never actually seen "The Griffers" but it's an earlier example of Stephen and Jack working together to produce a successful film. I only watched this film as my friend hired it, other wise I wouldn't have bothered, as the synopsis isn't that appealing. A man having trouble with his love life revisiting his past by talking to his ex-girlfriends and finding out why they wanted to end it with him. The thought of that and "comedy" made the film sound as if it would be suitable for a group of adolescents at a sleepover, I was mistaken. John Cusack plays the very complex character Rob Gordon. He owns a record store, so often his feelings are expressed through music or discussions on the ultimate top 5 songs to break up to. His girlfriend has just left him, Laura played by Iben Hjejle. This leads him to wondering why women never stay with him and so he compiles a worst 5 break-up list and visits all his ex-girlfriends to find out what the problem is. This leads to a world of self-discovery and in a sense maturity of his character when he realises he's afraid of commitment. He changes himself and to an extent overcomes these problems, the question is, is it too late for him and Laura to get back together? What makes this film quite unique is the fact Rob narrates the film and often will speak to the camera directing his speech at us, the viewers. To start with I found this slightly strange but it provides an extra depth to the film. His character becomes more understandable and as the viewer you feel happier when he does, more emotional when he does and you feel the blows from life when he does. So it's a very heartfelt film. The comedy is quite dry and so really appealed to me. It wasn't full of teen type comedy but almost to the level that adults would appreciate. I found most of the comedy in an indirect way from Rob himself however the central jokey character is Barry, played by Jack Black. Some may find him slightly annoying however he is fairly useful to develop the other characters. Overall this is an excellent watch and I definitely recommend it. Obviously I have only briefly described the main storyline otherwise what's the point of you watching it? There are many other twists and quite a strong focus on the music side of things, in fact quite an inspiration! I am definitely tempted to read the book now so I can see how good the screen adaptation was!

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"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" is the sequel to the very popular teen horror "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Both Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr play their original characters, Ray and Julie however this time there's also the added bonus of Brandy and the new talent Mekhi Phifer. The story is based around Julie and Ray escaping death in the previous film after almost killing Ben Willis and then covering it up. In this film Ben is back to get his wish and kill them both, no matter how many people die as a result. "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" is full of extra twists to make an over all successful film. However as I'm in the DVD section it is more important to be discussing the added features. I bought the film on region 2 as a wide screen presentation for £14-99, which is fairly reasonable as far as DVD's are concerned. All of the features are very easy to access. Once the DVD is inserted into a player the menu screen automatically loads up. All of the options appear on the screen and the menu can easily be accessed at any point in the film by pressing the menu key. As expected it has multiple language subtitles and language choice. The choices even range as far as Hebrew! It also has scene selection so that you can jump to any part of the film at the click of a button. In this part of the menu each chapter is given a title and a small picture so it's easy to see which part of the film it is referring to. Even though this feature is available on almost all DVD's I find it essential in my viewing. For example if you watch part of the film and forget to mark the DVD at the place you get to you simply go to the scene selections and pick the chapter you require. Included on the DVD is a music video. This is of one of the songs featured in the film and Jennifer Love Hewit herself performs it. So an extra added bonus for any males. The song is fairly good and there are cl ips of the film included with it. Two theatrical trailers are included, the English and American versions. I questioned the purpose of these to begin with but it's quite interesting to see why you were attracted to the film in the first place. However I'd probably say that are more of a disadvantage than an advantage as obviously they show about three minutes of the best parts of the film, so the rest doesn't seem as good. Finally there are filmographies and a behind the scenes featurette. I feel that both are somewhat of a let down. The filmographies obviously for fill the criteria but they are pretty boring unless you are particularly interested in one of the actors/actresses. The behind the scenes featurette is fairly short and shows clips from the film more than clips from behind the scenes! The sound and picture quality are excellent and shows a clear difference between DVD and ordinary videotapes. I even connected my hifi to my DVD player and it was like being at the cinema with the amazing quality. Over all this DVD is a good buy, especially for £14-99. It's of a high quality, includes the expected and more added material and of course the film itself is a bonus.

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Final Destination is an amazing film. On a plane trip to France, one of the students, Alex played by Devon Sawyer, has a very life-like premonition that the plane is going to crash. It causes so much disruption that 6 of the students and one teacher leave the plane. They all sit in the airport watching the plane that does explode! The story has now started as the 6 students have cheated death, from then on one by one they start to die with Alex being the only one that may help them cheat death and live. In between all this there's a romance and two enemies become best buds!! The only thing that I would criticise with this film is that the death scenes are very very unrealistic and over the top however in a strange way they still work well to contribute to the intensity of the film. Anyway you are in the DVD section so it's the extra's that you're interested in not the storyline! The extras on this DVD last 41 minutes and it's definitely worth paying the extra to get them. Pressing the menu key easily accesses all of the added things and often the menu automatically loads up when the disc is loaded into the DVD player. **Chapter selection** As with all DVD's the film has been divided up into chapters so that any part of the film can be accessed within a second by going to the menu. There are 19 chapters in all. **Theatrical Trailer** It's nice to see the advertising that originally prompted me to see the film in the first place. Unlike most trailers it isn't as misleading as they can be, although obviously all the best bits have been taken out and thrown together to give the best possible effect. **Cast and Crew** Full profiles of the cast and crew are included which is quite interesting to read, and also nice if your favourite actor is in the film. The profiles included those of Devon Sawya that plays Alex the lead, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Tony Todd and Kristen Clarke. **Delete d Scenes** The deleted scenes are shown and an explanation is given from the director as to why they weren't needed in the final cut in the film. The first is called "Addicted to love." It shows Alex and Clear talking on the beach about the death of their friends. Clear begins to open up to Alex about the death of her Father and they end up kissing which adds a romantic twist to the plot. The second is called "Pregnancy Test." It's a short scene that involved Clear talking a pregnancy test and it proving positive. A bit of humour is then used as she troughs the test into the bin along with several others that she'd already used! Finally there's the alternative ending. This involves Alex dying and Carter living. Clear has the baby and it ends fairly spiritually which really doesn't suit the rest of the film. The directors got rid of this after screening the film for the first time to a pilot audience and getting poor comments. **Featurette on Premonitions** This is an interesting thing to add to the strange element of the film. It tells the story of Pam Coronado who lives in south California. She had a dream that she was in the back of a car with two people that she didn't recognise, they were both shouting at her. The next day it was discovered a women had gone missing and was presumed dead. Pam became involved in trying to find the body using various methods such as hypnosis. When she was taken to the missing women’s boyfriend it was the same man as in her dream. The body was found in a place matching Pam’s description. **Interviews with executives** This section is particularly interesting for inspired future filmmakers. It talks us through the process of the first trial screening of the film and how it was developed from there. It includes conversations from James Wong the director and co-writer, Brian Witten the senior V.P, Karen Brown the director of marketing and Glen Morgan the producer and co-writer. **Directors Commentary** I have to say I find this the most impressive thing on the DVD aside from the actual film!! Basically the film is played again with the director and writer talking about it. It is absolutely fascinating to hear as it really shows how much work goes into making a film. **Games** Such an interesting thing to find on a DVD! There are two games. The first is called "Your psychic eye," and you predict 25 times what card will be drawn. Based on the amount that you correctly guess you are given a score on your psychic abilities. The second game is called "Death clock." You are asked questions such as how fit you are, and what kind of food you like eating and you are they given the time when you are going to die. A fairly good idea although not something you really want to think about. The extra features last for 41 minutes so the DVD is overall a very good buy. English subtitles are available for the hard of hearing. Along with the good standard of the film is definitely worth £14-99!

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The Green Mile has got to be one of the best films of all time. Described as a drama yet it combines so many different elements such as humour, a mystical element and of course the very sad theme. It's based on the book written by Stephen King yet it's far from the expected horror story. It's been described by Stephen King as "the best screen adaptation I've ever seen." The acting is very strong throughtout. Tom Hanks (Paul Edgecomb) leads as a prison officer looking after the prisoners that have been sentenced to death. There are several officers however Paul seems to be the one that has the most compassion and feeling for the prisoners. He understands what they have done yet he never seems to judge them for it. One day John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan)arrives and the storyline explodes. John appears to be withdrawn and frightened to start with and as the film progresses Paul finds out, in a very mystical and moving way, that John is innocent of his crime. He's now faced with a dilmema. Does he kill an innocet man because it's the right thing to do, or does he try and explain how he knows John is innocent and lose his job? Along with many other twists this is a fantastic film. Unlike other DVD's there's quite a lack of the extra features seeing as it is such a long awaited film staring so many fantastic actors. Each of the extra features that are included can be accessed by pressing the menu button. As with most DVD's it includes scene access which is very handy to have. For example if you have a favourite part of the film you can easliy reach it by in-putting the scene number, likewise if there is part of the film which you don't like you can easily skip it. Again, like other DVD's there is a choice of language. English and German is available, as well as English, Arabic, Romanian, Bulgarian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finish, Icelandic and Italian subtitles!!!! The trailor for the film has been included, it proved to be quite intersting to watch this after watching the film. That way you can practically analyse if the trailor has decieved you at all, this one certainly didnt't as the film was so much better. Finally a mini documentary is included named "Walking the Mile." It's very interesting to see how parts of the film were made. The actors are also speaking on it about their parts and you are able to gain a greater insight to how they added a more emotional side to their parts.

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Once again I feel I can already congratulate the Christmas TV for 2000. Each year I buy the Christmas addition of the TV times or Heat magazine and highlight what I'd like to watch this year, I have a jam-packed schedule! However even though I do this I don't end up watching half of the programs that I've chosen simply because I am too busy! I'm sure that a lot of other people find this to, but what the hey it's Christmas. This year I'm quite impressed with the variety of different programs on. Films, dramas, comedies, game shows, documentary’s etc. Programs that already exist have been changed in some way to make them slightly more appealing. For example "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" is having couples on instead of single people with will no doubt be somewhat amusing. Also, there is a celebrity edition of "The Weakest Link." TV is probably quite high on people’s lists for one of the important features of Christmas, as TV is already such a big part of our lives. So we need a good listing! The only thing that I feel I need to quibble about slightly is the times that the different programs have been put on. For example showing films over lunch time on Christmas day, or putting them on too late for the desired audience. But like most people I'm willing to put this aside, as the listings are so fantastic. These are a few programs that I will be watching over Christmas: CHRISTMAS EVE Lorna Doone-Drama Independence day-Film Celebrity edition of the Weakest link. Jingle all the Way-Film The concluding part of A Dinner of Herbs CHRISTMAS DAY Victoria Wood with all the Trimmings-Comedy The Royle Family at Christmas Home Alone 2-Film At the moment I think there is quite a close call between channels for which is the best. I can't yet make my mind up so let mm know if you want to leave a comment, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Well, I'd imagine that there's no one on this planet that hasn't yet seen an episode of Neighbours. It's an Australian soap that must have been running for about 15 years. It's shown twice every weekday at 1:45 and repeated at 5:35 on channel one. I will admit that I still watch it, however this is only because as a child I loved it. The whole Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue phase is what drew me to the soap, but it has now changed so much that my opinion of it has changed greatly. As it is a soap, of course we will have to put up with the soap type story lines. I do however think that Neighbours hasn't really caught up with others and still has terribly stereotypical characters. The story lines are very predictable but this is probably the key feature of any soap, and to be honest it's enough to keep me entertained for 25 minutes. Saying that though all of them are usually based on current issues or things that you can relate to yourself. But, again the problems arise when they are soooo exaggerated they become boring. Characters leave in the usual soap style fashion, which can also be predictable i.e.; they either die, or break up from their current relationship and go in search of something new! But again it's enough to keep you amused for 25 minutes. At present there are lots of younger characters then there have been in the past. This sometimes can liven it up slightly. The characters have also become slightly more attractive! Overall a good enough soap to entertain you each night, sometimes with a bit of a laugh. Don't completely dismiss this until you have watched it and can give your own opinion rather then adapting somebody else’s.

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I’m quite surprised that I am the first person writing about such a good album! However I do think that some of its success was due to the fact Stephen is part of Boyzone. Whenever a group member releases their own album to me it’s suggesting a split, but lets hope they have a good couple of year’s left! The album is titled “New Beginning” which is quite appropriate seeing as it’s his debut solo album. It comprises of 13 tracks all with their own meanings and tunes. There is a good balance between love songs and fast jumpy songs. The album has been out for a couple of months now and is available to buy in any good music shop, online or off! It has quite a distinct cover with Steve’s picture across the front and quite a bold title. The title is written with hollow bold letters and this is similar to the way his logo had been drawn which is a big S. Don’t worry if you think the album will be full of him singing at the top of his voice like he often does with Boyzone because he doesn’t! ***NEW BEGINNING*** This was his first solo song, and also matches with the title of the album. The words seem to have quite a meaning as it starts with “Seven years I’ve waited, Seven years of holding on, Always kept my faith in, Always knew this day would come.” It has a very catchy tune and is the kind of song that you would hum to yourself when doing the shopping! Another faster version has also been released on several albums and this one is probably more of the kind you could dance to. ***BELIEVE*** This is one of my favourite songs on the album, and I am hoping it will be up for release as his next single. The words are very meaningful, “I believe in love.” What else could we ask for in a song! It is a love song, however it has got a good kick behind it. The tune is simple and so easily remembered and the words also. At the end the tune changes slightly and in a way it sounds as if he is summing up the song. Then the notes higher slightly for a great finish. It’s the kind of song you’d probably press repeat on! ***IF ONLY YOU WERE HERE*** I have to say I am not that keen on this song, however I’m probably just being fussy! I like the start and middle parts but not the chorus, as it’s a bit old fashioned sounding and a bit repetitive! But again the words are nice and if the chorus were slightly different it would be a great song. ***STAY*** This has got quite a catchy tune and everytime he says stay it is shouted which makes you copy this. I have found several times now that when I’ve been listening to my walkman I only shout this word out as I don’t know the rest of the words! ***WANNA BE WHERE YOU ARE*** This song is a bit faster than the others and the tune is slightly more upbeat. However on the downside it sounds more like an album filler than a number one does! ***WHERE DO WE GO*** This is a lovely song, he sings magnificently, the words are beautiful and the music fits perfectly for the mood. I have a feeling this will be one of the most popular songs as it has such a good meaning that so many people are faced with in life, what is the next step? ***JUDGEMENT DAY*** This is another of the quicker songs. It has a slightly different theme to the rest and is about judgement day! It had some cool noises at the beginning and the tune is very catchy even if the words aren’t! ***YOU LIED*** One of my favourite parts of this song is the nice twinkie piano parts at the beginning. The music is lovely, with a nice selection of different instruments. Steve’s singing is great on this song and he has a great combination of high and low notes to make it just right! ***FAR FROM LOVE*** This has a lovely wistley kind of tune at the beginning and is second favourite song on the album. It starts of w ith a jumpy background noise and quite a steady pace with a nice beat that really gets you into it. The chorus is excellent as the verse builds up for it. This song has now been stuck in my head for the last month as it is so easy to remember, and the words are also meaningful. ***JUST CAN’T SAY GOODBYE*** This is one of the slower songs on the album which puts you into a really lovey dovey mood! It will speak out to a lot of people as he is singing about a broken relationship and how he doesn’t want it to end even though it’s full of problems. The pace is very slow and the words easy to pick up. ***DO WITHOUT ME*** I find this song the kind that you don’t particularly like that much but seems to hum it all the time anyway. This is probably as the chorus has numbers in, which are quite easy to remember so you remember the song too! ***COMING BACK*** This has quite an annoying tune and to be honest it is another of those horrible album filler songs. But saying that I’m sure someone will like it. And finally ***BRIGHT EYES*** This song is definitely not bad luck for him as it’s number 13. It has been written for one of the Disney movies and is lovely! GO OUT AND BUY THE ALBUM NOW!!!!!

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Mobile phone safety must be one of the most controversial issues in our present day, closely followed by the state train safety seems to be in at the moment. The mobile phone economy had rapidly grown over the last couple of years, and now most people have a mobile; if they haven’t it is usually due to age rather than not being able to get one, as shops store them to the roofs. Due to their popularity they can be purchased from as little as 20 pounds up to a staggering 200 pounds. Is it the price and availability that is encouraging everyone to use such a device that may be fatal to our health? I will admit that I am constantly using my mobile but the recent health scares are starting to make me wonder. They can be VERY useful with breakdowns and other emergencies, as well as with communication over a distance as sending a text message can often be cheaper than using your landline. However by using our mobiles we are being told by scientists that we are exposing our brains to harmful radiation. This is especially harmful to young children. To reduce this risk we have all been advised to use hands-free kits, which means there should be less of a direct link between your brain and your phone. But there also has been some advice saying this makes the problems worse. With this kind of disagreement what advice are we meant to listen to? Of course there is also the secondary consequences of using a mobile. The most distinct is car accidents caused by lack of concentration as the people have been talking on mobiles at the time. In the future with such a quick growth in this trade people will have to try and weigh up the advantages and disadvantages before deciding if using a mobile phone is worthwhile; hopefully research done by scientists will also progress and we will be presented with some useful guidelines rather than the muddled ones we have been faced with so far.

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Seeing as I have never been on the streets myself writing this opinion will be very difficult even though so many people have so many different views on it. I myself have mixed views. If the person is actually homeless and isn't a drug or alcohol abuser, I have the deepest sympathy for them. I mean having nothing to eat and no where to sleep is only the start of it and that is bad enough. They are prone to attacks from other homeless people for any of the small possessions they may be lucky enough to own. They are also susceptible to attacks from people. They are criticised for "faking it" or spending any money they do get on drugs or alcohol rather than food or shelter. What a life that must be. I have been hearing recently to cut this down instead of donating money we should give the homeless food or a blanket etc. I think by doing this you are basically saying you think they cannot be trusted with money. This is de-humanising them even more and will only make matters worse. Hopefully in the future more schemes will start up and try to cut down on the situation. However, it is due to the fake or abusive homeless people that the real ones are suffering so much. I'm sure we have all witnessed someone pretending to be homeless and walking home to their nice warm flat with a pocket of change. Because of this we form a particularly bad idea of homeless people in general in our heads and we make the real ones suffer. Hopefully soon, the prejudice will be cut down and the problem of homelessness will be cut drastically. My advice if you want to give money is to have a chat to them before hand. This will bring you to your senses when you hear what they have to put with; also the homeless person will have some slight happiness even if it is only for a few moments. It will also probably show you the real from the fake. Fake ones won't be interested in talking, the real ones will almost invite you into their lives f or a conversation.

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I feel this is one of those things that will never be agreed upon. Personally I don't think that boy bands are that bad, however recently so many seemed to have formed that they all sound very alike and their characteristics are very similar. It seems to be popular opinion that boy bands are rubbish and no one will admit to liking them. However why is it that nine times out of ten the number one spot is taking up by a boy band? It must be telling us that they are obviously not that bad! Maybe people are jealous of them? I mean they make millions, have thousands of screaming girls after them and are usually good looking. To me that is what most men are looking for. It's probably down to their looks that they are originally spotted. Many people think that they can't sing or dance so as long as they look okay everything else can be sorted out by the producers. I usually prefer other types of music although I must admit recently the standard of music produced by boybands seems to have improved. Some tunes are quite catchy, and the love songs quite often have meaningful words in them. But doesn't a solo artist seem to suggest more strength? They can make it to number one without the support of the other members of the group. However you can also change this to say the way boybands work together is a great representation of team work which is after all now being promoted in this day and age. Maybe if we reduced the amount of boybands then they would seem much more original. After all there is only a certain extent to the way you can get five blokes to sing about love.

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The Royle Family is an amazing comedy shown on Monday nights at 9:00 on channel 1. It lasts for half an hour and by the end of that time I'm sure you will be wetting yourself with laughter! Nine times out of ten the family will be sat on their sofa in the front room watching television. The show is written by Caroline Aherne, she also stars in it. To be honest I think they may have found it difficult to persuade the BBC to air this as a family sitting on a sofa doesn't sound that appealing. She captures the essence of a family life and exaggerates this to make one of the funniest programs I have ever seen! To date the program has a Mum and Dad (Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson), their daughter and her husband and child ( Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash and Matthew/James Hughs), also their other Son Anthony (Ralf little). I feel it is down to all of these amazing actors for the shows success. I mean they are acting every day life (even though it is exaggerated) and not some unbelievable life style. I have heard a couple of people saying that the show is rubbish, to be honest it sounds as if they haven't given it a chance. The gags are great and I must admit it's probably one of the best TV programs around at the moment!

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Humph!! Well to start with I really think that people either love or hate this game show. I personally love it. The game show is fairly new and was launched with a lot of great advertising that seemed to do it's job and highlight the main idea of the show. It is shown on channel 2 on weekdays at 5:15. Due to the shows sucess it is also now shown on Tuesdays at 8:25 on channel 1. Anne Robinson presents it and I personally think she makes the show. There are 10 contestants and each have to answer questions correctly. In each round they have the chance to bank money, this is done by any player when they feel they have enough saved from answering a row of correct answers. Anything that they bank is definitely theirs and is the prize money at the end. At the end of each round they vote out one of the team players for reasons such as getiing too many questions wrong or not banking the money. The team work together until therr are two players left and then they go head to head to win the final prize. One wins it all, one leaves with nothing! Anne Robinson has made the show what it is. Due to the hype from the press she has suitably fitted into the stereotypical role thats been portrayed of her, but only to make it better. She enjoys making fun of the contestants and she seems to be the winner of every show as no one could possibly say anything that she wouldn't have a better come back for! Also it appeals to me as a lot of the quesions are quite straight forward so even I can answer them! Overall a fantastic show that's not for the easily offended!

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I never thought that an advert could ever say anything that would become such a popular saying. However I think that Budweiser have finally proven me wrong. Budweiser launched with the well known frog adverts which seemed to amuse every one, including me infact they were my favourite adverts untill the whatssssssuup ones come along. Budweiser is a lager. The advert features several blokes sitting around drinking Bud, eating pizza and watching a football game. In between all this everytime someone rings the buzzer or the phone goes it is answered with the saying whatsssssup! This saying has now become so popular that now every time I'm greated by my friends they say that rather than hi. It seems to express their mood so much better then a plain hi. Budweiser was very popular even before these adverts hit our screens but now I can't imagine the kind of money they must be making. Is there anyone who hasn't heard of it now? I think this will be the aim of future advertising, to get a cool funny saying in. If they can get people to go around saying it all the time the drink is being promoted even more with out them trying, can it get any better then that!?